Categories › Computing History & Culture
History of computing Videos Recommended on Hacker News (231)
History of computing is one of the 150 topics Hacker News readers organize their video recommendations around. These 231 videos each earned real recommendations in real HN threads between 2007 and 2026 — 537 recommendations in total — and they're ranked by how many separate months the community kept coming back to them, not by view count.
Computing history: early computers, mainframes, Bletchley Park, ENIAC, Xerox PARC, Unix history, minicomputers, personal computer revolution, historical lectures and museum restorations.
Why HN keeps sending people here — on AT&T Archives: Similiarities of Wave Behavior (Bonus Edition): “By far the best introduction to the subject of waves of any sort.” — an HN commenter, 2019.
Features
Evergreen only
2 mo on HNSGI Indigo2: An $86,000 Workstation from 1995
LGR
2 HN recommender · 2019–2024
2 mo on HNTeletype Model 19 - Part 1: A Teletype Arrives for Restoration
CuriousMarc
2 HN recommender · 2019–2020
2 mo on HNSpringboard: the secret history of the first real smartphone (Full Documentary)
The Verge
3 HN recommender · 2022–2025
2 mo on HNOral History of Chuck Peddle
Computer History Museum
2 HN recommender · 2019–2024
2 mo on HNThe 3D-Printed Curta Calculator
Adam Savage’s Tested
2 HN recommender · 2017–2025
2 mo on HNWhy is Japan So Weak in Software?
Asianometry
2 HN recommender · 2024–2026
2 mo on HNBBS the Documentary [Full HD]
L33T GUY
2 HN recommender · 2018–2026
2 mo on HNLeap Technology
aamoviebb
2 HN recommender · 2014–2026
2 mo on HNAltair 8800 - Video #7.1 - Loading 4K BASIC with a Teletype
deramp5113
2 HN recommender · 2021–2024
2 mo on HNSpeedy Cutover Service, SXS switching cutover to ESS filmed live at Glendale CA central office, 1984
AT&T Tech Channel
2 HN recommender · 2018–2025
2 mo on HNCapt. Grace Hopper on Future Possibilities: Data, Hardware, Software, and People (Part One, 1982)
National Security Agency
2 HN recommender · 2024–2026
2 mo on HNQuick Start, Episode 7: Crimes... And Felonies.
Cathode Ray Dude - CRD
2 HN recommender · 2024–2026
2 mo on HNThe IBM 1401 compiles and runs FORTRAN II
CuriousMarc
2 HN recommender · 2018–2021
2 mo on HNChain of Fools : Upgrading through every version of windows (HQ)
TheRasteri
2 HN recommender · 2011–2021
2 mo on HNHold music used to sound better. Here's why.
Tom Scott
2 HN recommender · 2018–2023
2 mo on HNMicro Men - 10th Anniversary - With Chris Curry, Steve Furber and Hermann Hauser
The Centre for Computing History
2 HN recommender · 2020–2025
2 mo on HNMegaprocessor Tour 1 - (fixed audio)
Megaprocessor
2 HN recommender · 2016–2024
1 mo on HNSteve Jobs rare footage conducting a presentation on 1980 (Insanely Great)
naji1234
1 HN recommend · 2012–2026
1 mo on HNDouglas Adams - Hyperland
UJ ObscureMedia
1 HN recommend · 2016–2020
1 mo on HNAn astonishing old calculator - Numberphile
Numberphile
1 HN recommend · 2017–2023
1 mo on HNAlternate Reality Kit by Randall Smith at Xerox PARC 1986 (VPRI-0131)
Yoshiki Ohshima (大島芳樹)
1 HN recommend · 2018–2021
1 mo on HNWhere GREP Came From - Computerphile
Computerphile
1 HN recommend · 2018–2020
1 mo on HNThe CED: RCA's Very Late, Very Weird Video Gamble (Pt. 1)
Technology Connections
1 HN recommend · 2019–2025
1 mo on HNTed Nelson struggles with uncomprehending radio interviewer, 1979
TheTedNelson
1 HN recommend · 2017–2024
1 mo on HNThe Computer Revolution Hasn't Happened Yet OOPSLA 97 Keynote (VPRI 0719)
Yoshiki Ohshima (大島芳樹)
1 HN recommend · 2020–2026
1 mo on HNOral History of John Backus
Computer History Museum
1 HN recommend · 2019–2026
1 mo on HNSeymour Cray's Only Surviving Talk: "Cray-1 Introduction" (1976, LANL)
UC Berkeley Events
1 HN recommend · 2016–2026
1 mo on HNAmiga Story | Nostalgia Nerd
Nostalgia Nerd
1 HN recommend · 2018–2022
1 mo on HNAT&T Archives: The Step-By-Step Switch
AT&T Tech Channel
1 HN recommend · 2020–2023
1 mo on HNTed Nelson's Eulogy for Douglas Engelbart
Computer History Museum
1 HN recommend · 2018–2025
1 mo on HNAmiga Boing Ball
amigang
1 HN recommend · 2016–2026
1 mo on HNThe Lighthill debate on Artificial Intelligence: "The general purpose robot is a mirage"
Pierre-Yves Oudeyer
1 HN recommend · 2019–2025
1 mo on HNGrace Hopper on Letterman
TheLazlo101
1 HN recommend · 2016–2018
1 mo on HNA Brief History of the BSD Fast Filesystem by Marshall Kirk McKusick
EuroBSDCon
1 HN recommend · 2020–2023
1 mo on HNSteve Jobs Introduces the Macintosh
Computer History Museum
1 HN recommend · 2016–2024
1 mo on HNAlto System Project: Larry Tesler demonstration of Gypsy
Computer History Museum
1 HN recommend · 2021–2025